The Keto Maple Pecan Bar is Keto Friendly, Grain Free and Sugar Free

My inspiration comes from my favorite Christmas cookies, the Pecan Tassie which was the very post I ever did nine years ago. This isn’t that cookie because I don’t have a good substitute for brown sugar, but it led to this very easy cookie bar that works for any low carb or keto diet and is diabetic friendly.

I had a friend taste test, the first batch this who is strictly following keto and she said the texture was perfect, and suggested adding in maple.

Mr. Spinach Tiger concurred that maple woke this cookie bar up, and now I bring you this recipe that I have made three times and eaten way too much of.

This is not just for holidays, but is something you can easily make all year. I can have it all done in under an hour with ten minutes of active time.

How to Make the Almond Flour Crust

The only tricky part, although not difficult, is the almond flour crust. You have to press it in with your hands, (instead of rolling it). It doesn’t look like it’s going to work, but once you pre-bake it and you must pre-bake, it’s really good, not inferior in any way to other cookie bar bottoms.

As far as the cream cheese part, it’s so simple.

Cream cheese, an egg, Swerve (or sweetener of your choice), vanilla and maple extract and you’re just about done. Chop one cup of pecans, bake for about twenty minutes and then chill thoroughly. Cut into squares and take to your next party!

An Important Word about Maple Pecan Bars

Maple pecan bars aren’t a cheesecake, but have a cream cheese filing that is inspired by cheesecake. After three tries, we flavored the cream cheese mixture with maple extract, and liked this version best. I had tried flavoring with various liquors and that just did not work!

There is also an option on when to put the pecans in. In the first version, I put them first before the cream cheese mixture. Either way, it’s good. It’s a matter of how you want it to look.

I used this rectangular tart pan, but a square tart pan or square baking dish would work, if you plan on cutting them into squares.

I’ve been eating keto for a few months now, and am thrilled that the low-carb desserts that I can make are a part of the Spinach Tiger Big Fat Healthy Lifestyle. We lost some weight in November, and maintained that loss all the way through 2017. We took only a few days to splurge a little, but got right back on track.

Comments

My cream cheese mixture ended up looking like cottage cheese after I mixed it. I did leave the cream cheese out so that it was slightly softened, but the egg was right out of the fridge and I’m sure cooled down the cream cheese enough where it wouldn’t mix. It’s in the oven now and will probably be fine, but when I make it again I will definitely allow both the egg and the cream cheese to come to room temperature.

I will have to admit I flubbed this one – by accident. I overlooked putting an egg in the filling. I did mix in about a cup of heavy cream to thin the cream cheese. When I discovered my mistake, I thought about going ahead and adding the egg, but decided to leave it a chilled dessert instead. I tried to spread the mixture over the nuts and that didn’t work, so I mixed the nuts into the cream cheese. And finally, I didn’t have maple flavoring so I used rum flavoring. So, even though I took significant liberties, it’s still a keeper and I will try to follow the directions more carefully the next time!

Diane
That’s funny sort of. You know sometimes if you just keep going, you can salvage a recipe. I am going to remake this a few more times to be absolutely certain to the tiniest degree this recipe works, even though last Fall I made it about 6 times. I say that because its my number one dessert on Spinach Tiger out of HUNDREDS. I do have a new one coming that’s similar, made with heavy cream and nuts and much easier. Stay tuned.
Thanks for writing.
Happy Cooking
Angela

Idek how there is no nutrition info on here but here’s what I got with the cupcakes I made from this recipe. For 12 servings: 269 calories, 24.9g fat, 50.8mg cholesterol, 80mg sodium, 5.3 total carb, 2g fiber (3.3 NET CARBS), 6g protein.

(My total carbs doesn’t account for alcohol sugars, because my tracker doesn’t have an option for it.)

As far as a review.. these were fine, they weren’t my favorite but they were relatively easy to make, though next time I might cut the crust down so there’s not as much.

A few notes: in the instructions for both the filling and the crust it says to add vanilla, but in the ingredients list there is no mention of vanilla at all. Is it real vanilla, or pure extract and how much?
In the directions for the filling, it does not say to add the swerve in. I am assuming that I will add it in with everything else and mix, but if it is added in different, please let me know.
Does it have to be confectioners? I have Splenda that I use for most of my low carb desserts. Would this be a good substitute?
I took a guess on vanilla, and am getting ready to make these today. I will comment on how they turn out with my estimates.

I was wondering if you made these bars, and if so, did you substitute Splenda for Swerve and did you use vanilla in the crust and filling or just the maple extract in the filling? The recipe is very unclear, and I was hoping you could tell me how they came out.